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When Mahindra and Mohammed started in 1945, little did they think - how a steel company would create a diversified global conglomerate worth nearly 17 billion dollars now well known as Mahindra & Mahindra (since 1948). It all started with the decision to license and manufacture Willys Jeeps in India. The jeep was iconic and cult in nature. Having seen world wars, it came to conquer the Indian soil and it did. It had a lot of positives then including being rugged, tough, and economical however in that process it created also a rough, crude, uncomfortable rural image for Mahindra. That was when the idea of Scorpio was seeded. It was tough times in late 90s and early 2000 when foreign players as well as domestic competition (largely Tata Motors) gave M&M a hard time. Tata Sumo was a huge success, and the Qualis completely shook the market back then putting Mahindra in the back foot in a segment considered as home turf for them! Mahindra-Ford JV to manufacture the Escort also flopped. However, a large part of the same team eventually went on to build the most successful vehicles for Mahindra in future including the Scorpio.

The Armada was getting outdated and Bolero spread out in rural market. Mahindra needed a weapon to tackle the urban / semi urban masses and thus the Scorpio project started in 1997. It took them 5 years to launch it at a measly budget of 550 crores. This SUV broke several new grounds for Mahindra, it was a crowd sourced initiative, and Mahindra did the design in house but leveraged several suppliers to build nearly all crucial components. They tied up with the best of the Japanese, Germans, Koreans, and Americans in the process to create the Scorpio. Little did they know back then this was the beginning of taking over the UV space again for M&M. The design philosophy of Scorpio was a continuation of the same rugged underpinning for a SUV. However, now it was enveloped in a much better luxury and features targeting urban buyers including C segment sedan owners and promotion seeking B segment owners as well. The vehicle is in production for 12 years already and over the years Mahindra have made umpteen upgrades. In process, it has sold over 4.5 lakh units that has successfully created a brand image for Scorpio.

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Even more interesting is the journey of Scorpio taking its shape from a mere concept. Here's an excerpt of article from ET:

Goenka bought into a vision of Anand Mahindra, one that evoked, simultaneously, challenge and scepticism: to build an auto company, from scratch, that was self-sufficient in technology and products. "That is the vision he laid out for me," recalls Goenka. "I remember him telling me, 'I will give you a blank cheque and you give me an R&D that can develop globally competitive products in five years'. For an R&D person, there cannot be a better offer."

The first three years were about "constructing" R&D. "We did not have experience, processes or even offices," says Goenka. "Everything was done on the move." The team worked on some lesserknown products such as Armada Grand. Bolero came in 2000, with an investment of just Rs 20 crore.

But it was a pick up, developed by Goenka's team in 1998, that changed everything. It formed the basis for Scorpio, launched in 2002. "When we showed the first Scorpio prototype to Anand, he instantly hugged several of us standing there and said, 'this is like a child being born'," recounts Goenka. At the time, M&M was partnering Ford for cars, and Goenka made a presentation on the Scorpio to the Ford management team, from chairman down. "They could not believe an Indian company was daring to do something like this for shoestring budget of Rs 600 crore."

From a purist’s perspective, however, Scorpio moved away from the traditional "Jeep" design (and so did the Bolero). Several other vehicles came out from the Mahindra stable thereafter including the Xylo and XUV but over times Scorpio has retained its charm and most importantly sales numbers! In 2014, Mahindra introduced all new Scorpio with hydro formed / modular chassis, new axles, updated gearbox and suspension tweaks to sort out the ride quality. Last but not the least, all new interiors moving away from the quirky (ahem!) older generation Mahindra designs. However exterior designs largely remain the same and the Scorpio fans might be left unconvinced as far as exterior changes goes, the panels look the same but just got sharper. The exterior visual appeal hence disappoints considering they are calling this an all new Scorpio. Mahindra seems to have followed what Tata did with the Storme.

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A quick glance is sufficient to conclude that this is a minor facelift. Yup, it’s just a sharper dapper suit. Mahindra has preferred to retain older shape of the SUV with ornamental changes, though most of the exterior panels are revised but the roofline and doors are untouched. Paying a closer attention, you’ll begin to realize that save for bonnet, quarter panels and tail gate, everything else is familiar. It’s clear that this way, Mahindra has targeted two birds with one stone by pleasing both categories of customers. Those who like traditional design of Scorpio as well as those who demanded the looks to spice up. This way company has also managed to keep costs in check, by updating only the plastic parts as much as possible while limiting changes to metal sheet. However, under the skin, it's totally revamped.

Front design could be termed as love-it or hate-it but what’s sure is that it’s refreshing. The headlamps have evolved and look more aggressive. This projector unit with ‘eyebrows’ adds to a lot of character and makes the car more intimidating. But don’t mistake the illuminated stripe for DRLs, they’re just parking lamps. New front grille is wider and has a tinge of chrome inserts that appear to give an impression of scorpion stings. It seems that since the launch of XUV500, Mahindra has developed some sort of love for the honeycomb design. That’s why it’s seen so much in all recent products and Scorpio is a no exception. But don’t mistake them for being a weak part. At least theoretically, this shape is supposed to score well when it comes to absorbing shock impacts.

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Moving to the sideways is a discontent for sure. On one hand is a front that is entirely redesigned and on the other hand is the side profile that seems almost untouched. Only evident changes include new side claddings. The B and C pillar now get some cheap vinyl blackening which looks fine but upon a closer look, it exposes the lack of attention to finer details. And yes, there is a cheesy looking faux vent behind front wheel arches that looks nothing but out of place. In fact the mHawk decal is only on the left fender. The artificial vent houses the turn indicators too. Scorpio now also receives newly designed 17” alloys.

On the back, protruded element included above the taillight helps adding some substance to the design but is nothing special to write home about. Tailgate also features a thick black cladding with silver garnish in center. Design of taillamps is similar except for the fact that they’re now altezza-type. The parking sensors are positioned within limited area but they are quite smartly located. Middle sensors have a coverage area in front while outer units are placed on the curved surface. Thus, their coverage area is towards the outer edges. But it’s anyways not recommended to solely rely on parking sensors alone.

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The interiors of New Scorpio are many folds ahead, not only in comparison to previous model but the competition as well. Getting into the driver seat, I couldn’t help but notice amount of improvement in nearly every area. Fit and finish, though still not as good as one would expect, but it’s improved drastically. However, Scorpio is still an ergonomic disaster and not convenient as, say, Tata Safari Storme.

First impression is the last impression. And first impression of the new Scorpio is rather impressive. Both, steering wheel and the instrument cluster are beautifully crafted with decent fit and finishing. Thick rimmed steering is a straight lift from elder cousin, XUV500. Thankfully, also gone is the older and boring looking instrument cluster with poor backlit and undersized fonts. New cluster is now all-time backlit with legible and distinctive fonts. Twin hexagonal sections house tachometer and speedometer, which are accompanied with various tell-tale signs between two. The cluster also houses MID that shows information of trips, fuel level, engine temperature and current gear the vehicle is being driven in. This is a nice feature for newbie drivers and can be useful while slotting reverse gear. Personally I never felt the need for this feature though.

Dashboard:

The dashboard is nicely done with combination of light + dark grey coupled with a tinge of silver finish. Those who’re familiar with interiors of previous generation Scorpios won’t stop praising this one. Not only it’s attractive, but it’s also made up of better material. Good textures and the design language work quite well and you do get the feeling of a million rupee SUV. Center console is certainly the most impressive part. Neatest detail out of all is the carbon fiber finish plastic inserts in the lower-end, starting from sides of the screen and going all the way down to surround the gear lever. The only concern on the interiors is light texture which is prone to get soiled easily. All in all, dashboard is well-laid out and occupies less space too, thereby helping with cabin room by a couple of (but precious) inches. Speaking of ergonomics, following are some of the major flaws:

On the driver’s seat, one will always like to have a good coverage throughout and that’s where Scorpio excels again. The inside rear view mirror offers good coverage. But with a reduced glass area, the rear visibility isn’t anymore as good as it used to be. Just get 5 people on board and IRVM becomes virtually useless and ends up serving as a conversation mirror instead. However, ORVMs deserves a special mention for their favorable size. They are wide and two way folding. So now you can challenge the biker trying to squeeze into the space without the worry of getting your ORVM wrecked (no pun intended). What’s enhanced drastically is the comfort level as well as the list of features. Let’s first get to the seating comfort first

First Row:

What’s new? Everything, it’s new and way better than the outgoing version. Many criticized the older generation car about seat size, bolstering, adjustment and seat base length. It seems Mahindra has taken a ‘make an entire list and address everything’ approach here. They have simply tried to address each complain the customers had regarding the front seats and cabin. Seats are not only better contoured and a size bigger, but are better cushioned, better bolstered and the addition of height adjustment has now made it possible for drivers of all the sizes to find that perfect driving position. But there lies another issue, those with bigger frame would still find seats a bit inadequate while those with average build will be supremely comfortable on the same set of seats.

Middle Row:

Space in middle row is same as earlier but it’s adequate to comfortably accommodate an occupant of height 5’10” if someone sitting in front is of same height. Just as front, the mid-row seats receive better contouring and set at a near faultless height with near perfect backrest angle. The larger seat base takes the comfort to next level. In fact, Scorpio can now be rated very close to Storme as far as comfort is concerned. The middle row air conditioning works well and there isn’t much to nit-pick about second row except for the position of floor mounted AC unit that snatches the legroom of mid passenger.

Jump Seats:

If you thought that jump seats can’t be comfortable, think again. The jump seats on New Scorpio are anytime far better than those seen on Storme. Be it space, height, backrest angle or seat base length. However, jump seats are jump seats and best suited for short trips and especially not recommended if you suffer from car-sickness since the ride becomes bumpier behind. All in all, comfort and space is an area in which the Scorpio has significantly advanced.

If you find the improvement in seating comfort jaw dropping, then be ready to pick your jaw up from the floor after going through the list of features. Following the path of XUV500, the Scorpio is another SUV from Mahindra to be equipped with a swarm of features, of which some are unseen on even the SUV’s prices twice as much. For the entire list of features in the respective variants, the brochure is attached in post #10.

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Lifted directly from the XUV500, this 6” touch screen enabled unit in Scorpio welcomes you with a ‘Hi’ and is having a better choice of colors and textures as compared to those in the former. Touch reception quality is definitely good and so is the processing; no lags and no sluggishness. Only the smooth operation is on offer. It supports a wide range of audio and video formats but the video playback works only when the vehicle is at complete halt (a neat safety feature).

This tech laden unit can keep the gizmo freaks happy and busy for long times. In fact half of the new features which are marketed in New Scorpio are packed behind this 6” screen itself. To start with, it shows you a lot of vehicle specific data such as tyretronics, service due (if any), average fuel consumption and distance to empty (we wish it was in MID screen though) along with a couple of warning alerts. Adding to this are the features like Bluetooth telephony, voice guided GPS navigation (MapMyIndia) which is available in English along with various local languages too.

There’s also very fine attention to detail. It has an option to lower music volume based on choice of occupants whenever SatNav speaks instructions. But it’s worth noting that only front speakers are affected. Another interesting feature is the digital ownership manual, although many owners might not even use it but it’s a wonderful addition for multiple reasons: First, You need not to open the hard copy every time. Second, it’s a fact that watching a video is better than studying at least. Rest as already mentioned, screen is placed such that one everytime needs to take eyes off the road to check it.

There are two tiny and very aftermarket (call cheap) looking speakers fitted on the tailgate with some cheap bolting; looks like a “pakka jugaad” in all sense. Their sound quality is quite terrible. Raise the volume and half of the beats are gone. Raise it further and next thing you’ll be doing is to head at an accessories store. Swapping them is recommended anyway. Head unit also serves up as parking sensors display. The sensors can detect upto range of 110 cms, translating you can quickly reverse with complete dependence on the screen. Also what's on offer is an audio/video playback time of 60 minutes even if the key is moved to complete turn off position and your music will never go off even while you turn the ignition on. Sounds like some good battery power management trickery? It is.

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Once you unlatch the hood, it lifts up with pneumatic assistance and hazard lamps turn on automatically. The base (S2) variant is powered by an In-line 4 cylinder, 2523 cc m2DICR turbocharged diesel engine. This engine produces a low 75 BHP @ 3200 rpm of power and 20.39 kgm of torque @1400-2200 rpm. The engine being a higher displacement motor is blessed with a low torque but still feels underpowered for a beast weighing over 1.8 tonnes. This stripped down variant is definitely targeted towards budget and commercial buyers. Although the marketing team states that it targets the rural buyers too but I suspect. Nowadays, rural customers have the purchasing capacity of the cars which in fact majority of urban buyers doesn’t. ARAI certified fuel economy rating for this version is 16.01 kpl, which is impressive. But the engine which has grabbed our attention is this:

What makes a Scorpio a Scorpio is the presence of M-Hawk under its hood. This reason alone will suffice to overlook some of the screwed up dynamics. Available on the higher variants, this 2179 cc unit is one gem of an engine which offers a fantastic balance of power, fuel efficiency, drivability and refinement. On paper, it produces a potent 120 bhp of power @4000 rpm and a torque of 28.5 kgm @ 1800-2800 rpm. With all these figures, it still manages to score remarkable 15.37 kpl FE figure in ARAI certifications. Now the question arises, 30 kg reduction in weight and 10 Nm of reduction in torque, isn’t it bad for performance? Read on.

Crank the engine and the cabin vibrates, I did again and it vibrates again. Not very disturbing vibration but there is enough of it. Look at the gear lever while cranking and you can see it rocking! I cranked the SUV in a cold morning (I mean it, around 10 degree centigrade temperature) and it started in the first crank itself that lasted around 2 seconds. That’s not bad; every car takes this much time during first crank in winters. I let the engine reach its normal operating temperature and that’s when we discover the very refined nature of the engine. All the clatter and weird sounds do settle down and all you have is a hum with slight diesel specific clatter in the background. Although the redline is given at 5000 rpm but even after a lot of attempts we never managed to get there and hence we can safely say that the engine revs to a maximum 4800 rpm and that’s also quite free revving for the diesel engines.

After getting inside the car, we simply discover how far the NVH has also gone from older generation. There is always some engine noise intruding into the cabin but this is a 2179 cc diesel engine and don’t expect the Scorpio to have an Audi like sound insulation. Overall the sound deadening is very much satisfying and identical to the Safari Storme, if not better. Slot into the first gear and this is the time you discover how much the clutch and gearbox has improved. The clutch (although offset placed) is now on a lighter side and the overall gear shifts are smoother than before, but they’re still slightly notchy and throws are long. The ratios are well defined, which will be discussed in detail later.

The flexibility provided by M-Hawk has always been its strong point. The motor delivers loads of torque right from the low end to 3500 rpm, after which the noise is more and progress is less. Although the engine is good at revving but its better if you keep it in the mid range and enjoy the torque. Driving in the lower end keeps it away from fun to drive factor and driving in the top end is simply useless as the progress is really weak there; which turbo diesel loves to be redlined then?

On paper the torque is lesser by 10 Nm as compared to the outgoing version but everything written on the paper appears false when you drive this SUV. The power build up is simply amazing and so is the acceleration. In fact one will be driving the bursts of acceleration while travelling at moderate speeds on dual carriageway. What’s the reason behind such a fantastic power delivery? New Gearbox. Transmitting the power to the rear wheels is the new 5MT320 gearbox which is lifted directly from Xylo but left us with a point to complain. The gear ratios also remain exactly same as those of Xylo and although they are well set, yet we found the higher gears a bit shorter. The table below shows the engine rpm per gear at some specific speeds that we observed during our drive.

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Thankfully, despite of being short, gear ratios are well-optimized. Infact Mahindra has optimized them so well that they seem to finally get a near perfect compromise between power and fuel efficiency. And that’s evident in our fuel efficiency test runs in which we managed to achieve decent figures:

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What’s missing in the gearbox? Either a 6th gear is missing or a 5th gear with a higher ratio. Scorpio seems to beg for a sixth ratio as engine gets vocal at around 2500 rpm @ 100 Kmph and could be listened from cabin. Yep. You read it right. Scorpio isn’t too quiet 100 kph and that’s a downside. In fact its short fifth gear which makes the Scorpio run out of steam at hardly 130 kph and the progress above that speed is really weak. Anyone who frequently drives an XUV5OO is definitely going to be disappointed with the gear ratios. Adding to woes is the issue of vibrations in the gear lever. Those who’re habitual of driving with one hand on gear lever will be left annoyed. Same goes for the clutch pedal. It’s vibrations are directly proportional to engine speed. Though clutch vibration won’t be as much bothersome as gearshift since it’ll seldom need to be driven with half clutch.

The age old and least useful feature is the micro-hybrid technology. It’s basically a start-stop function that switches the engine off when car comes to a halt at neutral. Once driver touches any of the three pedals, engine fires up again. The entire cab vibrates everytime this process happens but it apparently helps to save some fuel. This feature can be switched off from a button located on center console if required.

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If there is something Mahindra always got brickbats for, then it has to be the suspension and ride quality of the Scorpio. This is one of the areas where it has worked hard to improve itself and deserves the due appreciation for the work put in. The ride quality of New Scorpio is by no means a perfect flat ride, but it’s definitely the best riding Mahindra so far. It’s no more as bumpy as previous generation was and the new ‘cushion’ suspension is much better. However, the net ride quality still remains a bit far from what we call plush. Compare the Scorpio to the older gen and you are taken by a surprise that how much actually the vehicle has improved but if you bring the plush riding SUV’s like Storme or Duster into the picture, then you realize that how much is still left to cover for the Scorpio. The straight line stability is good and on the smooth surfaces, one won’t have much to complain, it’s only when the surface gets rough; the Scorpio gets caught.

The top heaviness is still present and the vehicle is never settled while negotiating corners at good speeds; don’t even think of high speed cornering on Scorpio. The suspension now works far better than the outgoing model but you always get some up down bouncy movements and what’s really bad is that the lateral as well as longitudinal movements never feel well under control. But being a ladder frame SUV, ride quality is expected to improve with passenger load. Something that deserves a special mention is the overall build quality. The Scorpio has always been famous for its abuse friendly nature and this one is no different. I drove it on some bad roads at a speed that one won’t even dare to hit in their monocoque SUV’s but had nothing to complain. Nothing came out of its place and any rattling movements or sounds from anywhere were unheard. Everything is very firmly bolted.

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New steering is not only feels good to hold but is equally nice in terms of responsiveness. It feels connected most of the time but unfortunately Scorpio's dynamics don’t complement it. Otherwise, on normal city drives, using Scorpio is a breeze due to fair visibility and engine responsiveness. Plus, with lesser than before turning radius of 5.4 meters (formerly it was 5.6 meters), it has become easier to make tight U-Turns. Braking has significantly improved from the outgoing version but sponginess still exists on the pedal. The pedal feeling is still nowhere near what one gets from the vehicles like Safari Storme. But overall braking is quite satisfactory with car coming to rest from 60 kph and 80 kph respectively in straight lines.

However, applying the brakes with slight steering input (like a real emergency situation which requires brake + high steering input at times) made rear-end to fishtail a bit. Addition of passenger load (5-7 passengers) is likely to make the rear more settled under braking. On the safety front, Mahindra has equipped ABS and Airbags on top trims viz: S4+, S6+, S8 and S10, opposed to old model which had airbags only in VLX (that too optional). To sum it up, generation after generation, Scorpio has continued to prove its mettle. New model, although looks identical to outgoing but underneath, it’s highly revamped machine with a host of improvements on offer. Best part? All this comes without major revision in price tag. Kudos to Mahindra for eradicating some of the major flaws and pricing this car spot on, yet again.

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Vipul and Amit, Buddies, what an extensive and well written review.. Every minute detail covered. Amazing pics add to the beauty of the highly detailed review. Fantastic!! The new Scorpio does look really more aggressive from front thanks to the grille and those DRLs than the earlier one. The interiors look fresh and refined.